Philosophy in Practice Week 7: Philosophy in Practice Week 7: National identity and special bonds of solidarity: what is it and why does it matter to political.

Philosophy in PracticeWeek 7:

National identity and special bonds of solidarity: what is it and why does it matter to political philosophers?

Structure1. Introduction to nationalism and national

identity

2. National identities

3. The importance of trust and national solidarity

4. Moral obligations to co-nationals

5. Criticism

6. Conclusion

Introduction to Nationalism and National Identity

Nationalism’s Bad ReputationLeads to:

• War and totalitarianism

• Imperialism and oppression

• Irrationality, partiality, closedmindedness and lies

Forms of nationalism• An ideological doctrin (”we must promote the interests of the

nation”)• A political movement (Scottish, Welsh, or Basque nationalism,

‘new British nationalism’) – A desire for national independence (‘we need our own nationstate’)– A desire for national unity (‘we have to be in this together’). – A desire for national identity (’we must know and stregthen awareness

of who we are’)

• A sentiment or form of subjectivity (‘the Serbians are very nationalistic’)

• A philosophical theory (legitimization, justification) of the importance af nations and the need for its political expression (e.g. David Miller’s theory)

Why a Theory of National Identity?

• The nationstate is threatened (should it be preserved?)

• Nationalism is many things (conceptual clarification)

• Nationalism can take many forms (can they be

separated in practice?)

• AND: national identity is an inescapable part of the

political and lived reality

• But what is it?

National identity

National IdentitiesMiller:• National communities are constituted by belief

– Imagined communities– This does not mean that they are false or unimportant, but

merely that their realm is the mind (like marriage and money)– ”A daily plebiscite”

• National communities entail historical continuity– Stretches back towards an endless past– …and towards an endless future– Focus on unifying historical events – tragedies and golden ages

National Identities #23. National communities are active identities

– Performs collective acts (often via intermediates)

4. National communities are bound to a certain geographical location

– This is an essential part of having such an identity– National communities must have a homeland

5. National communities must be ”marked off from other communities by its members’ distinct traits”

– People who share a national identity must have (are experience themselves as having) a particular culture

National Identities #3• Miller’s definition: national identities are imagined, entail

historical continuity, are active, geographically bound and based on distinct traits.

• Important (implicit) part of many parts of political philosophy and politics: equality, democracy, justice, citizenship, etc.

• And, not least, important part of politics and the reality and life people actually live and experience.

• Miller holds that this should be taken seriously in political philosophy (he is what he calls, an ethical particularist).

• But apart from what people feel, why should we care?

The Importance of trust and solidarity

Trust and solidarity• Equality, citizenship, democracy, etc. are based on the

bonds of trust and solidarity created and upheld by national identities.

• Trust and solidarity is needed to “mobilise people to provide collective goods,” “agree to practices of redistribution,” and avoid social atomisation.

• This provides weighty instrumental reasons for accepting the importance of national identities.

• But how should we treat this fact? Or rather, what does this mean regarding our obligations?

Moral obligations to co-nationals

Special obligations• Co-nationals must perform special duties to each other

in order to maintain their relationship.• As we have seen, national bonds are instrumentally

important – they facilitate the provision of collective goods and comprehensive systems of redistribution

• These special duties are not only important, they are constitutive of the relationship between co-nationals – it could not exist in the same form without them.

• ...and national relationships should be upheld because they are also intrinsically important – they make lives better.

Special obligations vs. other obligations

• Having special duties means that we must prioritize co-nationals over others to whom we have duties.

• It means our duties are more stringent and are concerned with relative shares (i.e. Inequalities).

• Thus, our obligations to co-nationals should take precedence over obligations to poor foreigners and are furthermore more demanding.

Criticizing nationalism• Strong bonds of identity do not exist

nationally or do exist internationally (criticizing the empirical claim)

• Why do we have special duties to someone with whom we share an identity (criticizing the normative claim)?

• Overall criticism

Conclusion• Nationalism has a bad reputation, but takes many different forms.• In Miller’s form, national identity has been cleansed of these bad

connotations.• Here, national identity involves an imagined community, historical

continuity, political activity, geographical boundedness, and a basis in distinct traits.

• National identities are instrumentally important due to their role in upholding trust and solidarity and intrinsically important since they are valuable relationships.

• Thus, they give rise to special obligations, which should be prioritized over other obligations (e.g. to foreigners).

• Miller’s account of national identities may be criticized in different ways.

Questions• Is Miller’s depiction of national identity plausible? Is it a

realistic depiction? Should it be in order to play the role he intends it to play?

• Are national identities as important as Miller take them to be? Instrumentally? Intrinsically?